Where did the Angel and Devil arguing on a character's shoulder start?

Question is pretty much as presented? When did the scene found in so many movies and tv shows come from? You know the scene, an action figure sized little angel and devil, often looking like the conflicted character, try to persuade the main characer to do either the right or wrong thing. It seems to hae been around forever. Anyone know where it started?

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PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS THREAD IS FROM 2008, UNTIL REVIVED IN MAY 2014 IN POST #19. -- CKDH

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Amy--Maybe I'm the Antichrist. Mayhem is my deal.
Shelley--That would explain it, but you don't have a tail.
Amy--Does the Antichrist have a tail?
Shelley--1) Has a tail. 2) Shifty eyes. 3) When they wee, it comes out black.

The angel / devil setup comes from the medieval morality plays, which date back at least as far as the fifteenth century. I'd bet that the image made its way into contemporary pop culture via Marlowe's Dr. Faustus (early 1590s).

That said, obviously none of the early stage versions would have featured an action-figure-sized angel and devil standing on the character's shoulders, since it's pretty hard to do that with live actors. I have no idea where that part comes from.

Here'sLend a Paw. The mini devil and angel don't actually appear on Pluto's shoulders, they just walk/fly around. Interestingly the same mini devil appears in Mickey's Elephant (1936) without his angel companion.

I'm thinking that the origin isn't really from the Islamic tradition mentioned above. It looks like Disney cartoonists simply first used the device of a tempting devil from the Christian tradition and from there it was natural to add an angel in the later cartoon. Presumably some later cartoonists put them on someones shoulder (though I'm guessing that innovation happened with a different character then Pluto since 1) The database I found of Disney characters doesn't have any further appearences of the "Pluto's devil" character till the '90s and 2) Pluto doesn't really have shoulders). In anycase, I'd be interesting if someone knows when the mini angel/demon moved up to peoples shoulders.

Of course, that website I linked to might be wrong, and the Disney cartoonists might be drawing on an earlier instance of the device.

ETA: other interesting fact, while googling I found a Time magazine article about Lend a Paw that states the voice of the angel is supposed an imitation of Eleanor Roosevelt.j

Heh, sorry about all the consecutive posts. Googling "angel on my shoulder" is giving me something to do while I fill out tax forms.

This film from '46, both the title and the movie poster shown, are pretty obviously meant to recall the shoulder angel/devil motif. So I'd say that it was well known in the US by then at least, which is making me question the idea of arguing devil/angel first appearing in the 1941 Disney cartoon.

I'm thinking that the origin isn't really from the Islamic tradition mentioned above. It looks like Disney cartoonists simply first used the device of a tempting devil from the Christian tradition and from there it was natural to add an angel in the later cartoon. Presumably some later cartoonists put them on someones shoulder (though I'm guessing that innovation happened with a different character then Pluto since 1) The database I found of Disney characters doesn't have any further appearences of the "Pluto's devil" character till the '90s and 2) Pluto doesn't really have shoulders). In anycase, I'd be interesting if someone knows when the mini angel/demon moved up to peoples shoulders.

That Wikipedia article is particularly terrible; it doesn't even touch on cartoon representations, where the trope seems to have found its modern form. Hergé was particularly fond of the trope and may have codified it from existing "tempting devil and advising angel" motifs. The saintly Tintin was seldom affected, but the more mundane Captain Haddock and Snowy were frequently lured by whiskey or bones. In The Red Sea Sharks from 1958 Captain Haddock had the miniature angel and devil perched on each shoulder, counseling him to either abstain or drink.

In a Halloween episode of Modern Family, 3 boys are walking down a street. In the middle is one of the main characters (Manny, for those who don't watch) flanked by his cousin Luke in a devil costume, and an unnamed friend wearing the uniform of the Los Angeles Angels baseball team. Naturally, the two are giving Manny conflicting advice.